Moulin Rouge

 Mouline RougeMolinos Rojos
Robbie Burns

Prov. 27:20
"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied."

Silke Hornung

Sculpture in Bratislava old town
Making Friends

Chess: "Mouline Rouge" "Molinos Rojos" "Robbie Burns"

Moulin Rouge
One of Paris' most famous cabarets, the Moulin Rouge ("The Red Windmill") took its name from one of the many windmills in the Montmartre area of Paris. It is the home of the French cancan. The Moulin Rouge is located at the base of Montmartre, in Pigalle, Paris' red-light district.
Immortalized by French artist, Toulouse-Lautrec, and the birthplace of the dance, the cancan, the Moulin Rouge (The Red Windmill) took its name from one of the windmills of Montmartre. On October 5, 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened as the "rendez-vous du high life" at the foot of Montmartre. Both a dance hall and cabaret, it housed a large dance floor, mirrored walls, and a fashionable gallery lit by round glass globes of gas lamps mounted throughout the interior. In the garden were an outdoor stage and an enormous wooden elephant, with interior stairs leading to a glass-enclosed howdah, tame monkeys, and donkeys that ladies would ride after removing their stockings. There were masked balls twice a week. The music was a brassy accompaniment to various new forms of the risqué "cancan" which shocked some visitors. Professional dancers appeared on the floor, described in the 1898 "Guide des Plaisirs à Paris" (Guide to the Pleasures of Paris) as "a host of young girls who are there to demonstrate the heavenly Parisian Chahut dance as its traditional reputation demands...with a physical elasticity as they do the splits, which promises just as much flexibility in their morals." Now and then, a representative from the police morals squad had to be on the watch to be sure the chahuteuses (cancan dancers) were wearing underwear. The performers were also noted for their spectacular costumes -- and quick changes.

Notable performers at the Moulin Rouge have included La Goulue, Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra, Yvette Guilbert, Jane Avril, Mistinguett, Le Pétomane, Édith Piaf and others. The Moulin Rouge was also the subject of paintings by post-impressionist painter Toulouse Lautrec.

Can-Can at the Moulin Rouge

The main feature of an evening at the Moulin Rouge is the nightly cabaret performance. The Moulin Rouge is famous internationally as the 'spiritual home' of the traditional French Can-Can, which is still performed there today. Whilst the dance of the can-can had existed for many years as a respectable, working-class party dance, it was in the early days of the Moulin Rouge when courtesans first adapted the dance to entertain the male clientele. It was usually performed individually, with the courtesan moving in an increasingly energetic and provocative way in an attempt to seduce a potential client. It was very common for them to lift their skirts and reveal their legs, underwear and occasionally the genitals. As time progressed, the can-cans seen at the Moulin Rouge became more and more vulgar and overtly erotic, causing much public outrage.
Later, however, with the rising popularity of music hall entertainment in Europe, courtesans were no longer 'required' at the Moulin Rouge and it became a legitimate 'nightclub'. The modern can-can was born as dancers were introduced to entertain the guests, many of them failed ballet dancers with exceptional skill. The can-can that we recognise today comes directly from this period and as the vulgarity of the dance lessened, it became reknown for its athelic and acrobatic tricks. Also the Moulin Rouge has lost much of its former reputation as a 'high-class brothel' and it would soon become fashionable for the very best in French society to visit and see the spectacular cabarets, which have included a traditional French can-can ever since. The dance is recognisable for the long skirts with heavily frilled undergarments that the dancers wear, high kicks, hops in a circle whilst holding the other leg in the air, splits, cartwheels and other acrobatic tricks, normally accompanied by squeals and shrieks. As the dance became respected, it became less and less crude, however but the choreography is always intended to be a little riqsue at times and somethat provocative and 'a little naughty'.
Today, the Can-Can performed at the Moulin Rouge has iconic status in dance throughout the World. In France, the Moulin Rouge and the dance that made it famous are regarded with great respect as part of the countries cultural heritage.

Striptease

The People's Almanac credited the origin of striptease as we know it to an act in 1890s Paris in which a woman slowly removed her clothes in a vain search for a flea crawling on her body. At this time Parisian shows such as the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergere pioneered semi-nude dancing and tableaux vivants. One landmark was the appearance at the Moulin Rouge in 1907 of an actress called Germaine Aymos who entered dressed only in three very small shells.

The music video for Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim and Mýa's Lady Marmalade was shot at the Moulin Rouge.